


May I have This Dance?

by Atalto



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura has lots of emotions that we were robbed of, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crushes, Cuddles, Dancing, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I'm predictable as fuck, Lion Swap, Pining, Pre-Shiro's return, Romance, Tme Skip, background shance - Freeform, diplomacy balls, pining pidge, shopping dates, waltzes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 09:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12702249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atalto/pseuds/Atalto
Summary: To be honest, Pidge wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. She was never really one for clothes shopping, preferring internet shopping or, at least, shopping alone without her parents to complain over modern fashion. At least in space, the novelty of shopping in a mall surrounded by aliens of all shapes and sizes was enough to keep her going, but her patience was wearing thin.On the other hand, though, it was hard to say no to the Princess when she looked to excitable. Pidge recalled her saying that this one of the first times she'd been allowed to shop freely, and really, how was Pidge supposed to refuse? She'd asked her with the softest smile Pidge had ever seen on the other girl, eyes innocently downturned and eyelids batting, and she couldn't find it in herself to maybe say no.A diplomatic ball forces Pidge to face her feelings for Allura, and together, they're there for each other when the war suddenly hits them hard.





	May I have This Dance?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> So,,,, this has been sitting in my drafts since August, and what was supposed to be a short drabble for WLW month turned into THIS. I'm so sorry.  
> Anyway, I've been meaning to write some pallura forever, and I hope I did them justice! (Allura is really hard for me to write lmao)  
> If this goes well, expect more in the future!
> 
> Enjoy!

"Pidge, trust me, this is the one!"

Pidge sighed, heavily. That was the fourth, maybe even fifth, time Allura had assured her that the latest dress over her arm was perfect for a diplomatic ball. It was also likely that it was the fourth, maybe fifth time that she was wrong.

  
They'd tried everything that the new space mall had to offer, from asymmetrical alien fashion comprised from what looked like randomly coloured offcuts, to floor-length wedding dresses that came complete with a veil and a mine's worth of sparking gemstones. 

  
To be honest, Pidge wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. She was never really one for clothes shopping, preferring internet shopping or, at least, shopping alone without her parents to complain over modern fashion. At least in space, the novelty of shopping in a mall surrounded by aliens of all shapes and sizes was enough to keep her going, but her patience was wearing thin. 

  
On the other hand, though, it was hard to say no to the Princess when she looked to excitable. Pidge recalled her saying that this one of the first times she'd been allowed to shop freely, and really, how was Pidge supposed to refuse? She'd asked her with the softest smile Pidge had ever seen on the other girl, eyes innocently downturned and eyelids batting, and she couldn't find it in herself to maybe say no.

"Oh, Pidge, you have to try this one on!"

  
A green dress was shoved into her arms, snapping her out of her thoughts. In front of her stood Allura, arms laden with dresses of many different colours and eyes wide with excitement.   
"Princess, really-"

  
"Pidge, I can assure you this one will look good," Allura reassured, dumping the pile of material on a table in the dressing room, "this particular shopkeeper is a Dray'n, capable of telepathically directing someone towards something, and they suggested that I try you in this!"

She held up the dress against Pidge again, turning her so they were both visible in the mirror.   
"Well, go on then, try it on!"

  
Pidge moved to take off her jumper for what felt like the thirtieth time, but Allura didn't make any signs of moving. "Princess?"

  
"Apologies!" The Princess startled, almost as if she was caught off guard. "I keep forgetting you humans require privacy, I shall wait outside." 

  
She gracefully turned on her heel, tossing back the changing room curtain with one swift movement. "Pidge?"

"Yes, Princess?"

  
"Please, trust me on this one," she replied, voice tender yet forceful; Pidge couldn't see her face, but she could imagine the gently commanding expression. "I know this one will be the one."

  
"I trust you, Princess, don't worry." Pidge sent back a smile, that Allura looked over her shoulder just in time to see. In turn, she sent back a smile of her own, a one-sided smirk that, somehow, had the power to make Pidge's heart beat in double-time.

With that, she left, allowing the curtain to fall back into place with a clink of the rail, and Pidge was left dumbfounded in the centre of the room. How  _dare_ someone make her feel that way, let alone an alien princess whom she had literally no chance with. Did the Princess even like other altean women? Maybe this is just a cultural mix-up; the only other couple on the ship were two of her teammates who were very certainly male, so maybe she assumed all human pairs were same-sex?

  
Wait, was she even flirting?

  
Pidge looked down at the dress in her hands. There was nothing else for it now other than to try the damn thing on, and the sooner she agreed to something, the sooner she could leave to hole herself up in a little pile of gay angst and self-pity back at the castle.

It turns out getting the dress on was more hassle than actually choosing it; it had more zips and catches than her paladin armour, and it was hard to work out where the material clung to her body from just holding it up. 

  
Once she'd got it once, it was quite a surprise; the dress itself was floor-length and moss green, with straps halfway down her upper arm in favour of showing off her shoulders. The actual bodice was a flat moss colour and fanned out into a skirt around her waist that danced and whirled around her legs as she walked, the curling silver patterns around the hem glinting in the strip light above the mirror. 

  
She actually looked like royalty, a kind of beautiful that she never thought she would ever achieve back on Earth, and her reflection in the mirror gaped back at her.

"Pidge, is it on?"

  
She laughed under her breath; Allura's voice was muffled by the curtain, but her anticipation was still clear as day.  
"Yeah, it is," she called back, unable to take her eyes away from the mirror.

  
"Is it good?" Pidge was about to reply when Allura interrupted her again. "Wait, don't tell me, I want to see for myself, but put these on first!"

  
A pair of equally coloured heels inched under the curtain, along with a series of jewellery, necklaces and earrings that hung heavily off her body.

With a smooth pull, the curtain was pushed back for one final time, leaving Pidge awkwardly standing in the doorway. Allura was busy talking to the shopkeeper, or what Pidge assumed was telepathically talking based on the gestures and general lack of sound, but soon they pointed one scaled finger in Pidge's direction and wandered back to the till. 

  
Allura span around, and in her gaze, time seemed to freeze. She suddenly felt like she was under a microscope, but not in a negative way.

  
In fact, she kind of liked the way the Princess looked at her as if she was a new work of art in the castle gallery. If trying on a dress was what got her to smile in awe like that, then Pidge would try on as many dresses as she could find.

  
The spell was eventually broken by the Princess running over to her, arms wide and laugh tinkling in the still air of the shop. "Dear, it looks amazing," she cooed as she ran her hands over the shoulders of the dress, eventually moving over the bodice and down onto the skirt to smooth out the wrinkles, "you must buy it."

  
"Y'think so?" Pidge stuttered in reply, silently cursing the way her voice sounded.

  
Allura's hands returned to her shoulders, and Pidge felt herself get pulled into eye contact. "No doubt about it, you look..." she trailed off, eyes averting as she thought of the right word, "downright beautiful."

  
In response, Pidge could do little more than a flustered sort of hum, suddenly aware of her rat's nest hair and sweaty hands. 

  
"We're buying it, and you'll be the brightest jewel in the ballroom when we meet with the Wrathnia next solar movement," Allura said, just loud enough for her to hear, despite her words sounding like explosions in the quiet of the room.

  
Shrugging, Pidge laughed nervously. "I'll save a dance for you then, I guess."

  
Allura nodded, a blush - or what Pidge hoped was a blush - lighting up her cheeks and highlighting the markings under her eyes. "I would like that immensely."

* * *

 

"So, how did your shopping date with the Princess go?"

  
"Lance, please, fuck off, I'm trying to work."

  
Poking a finger into her cheek, Lance screwed his face up playfully. "Ooh, someone's touchy about the subject, maybe since someone has a little crush?"

  
"No, I don't!" Pidge shot back, batting his hand away.

  
"Not even a little one? Not even a teensy-tiny 'widdle one?"

  
"Lance, please," she huffed out, "I know why you actually spend so much time in the training room, and I'm  _not_ afraid to tell Shiro that he's wrong about you suddenly caring about your fighting skills."

  
"Oh, I bet you do," he drawled sarcastically, plonking himself down on the altean sofa beside her, "or, that's just a ruse to get me to shut up, well it's not working-"

  
"You practice dancing with the gladiator because you're scared of stepping on his feet at the dance next week."

  
Lance swore to one side.

  
Bingo.

  
"And, if it'll shut you up, I might like Allura but it's not going to go anywhere, so there."

  
"That's what I said about my crush, Pidgey," he reminded her, swinging back round to face her, "and look where it got me! I'm dating my high school hero years later, and if I can do that, you can date an incredibly beautiful, strong, and hardcore space princess. Sixteen-year-old me would be in awe of the both of us."

  
"Yeah, right, whatever."

  
She felt a hand on her shoulder and moved from her computer to see Lance looking at her seriously. "It'll go better than you think it will Pidge, if you want it to at least." He chuckled slightly and pulled his hand away. "Just, go with the flow, if things are gonna' happen, they'll happen, y'know?"

  
"Alright Lance," Pidge said quietly, "thank you."

  
"It's okay," he replied, a moment of stillness before he pulled her into a large hug, "now, go, little Pigeon! Be free!"

  
Pidge squawked, pushing Lance's face away playfully. "Get off me, you complete goofball!"

* * *

 

The dance came much sooner than Pidge expected, even after the way the days seemed to drag on when actively avoiding someone. She hadn't been in a room alone with Allura since the mall visit, and she wasn't completely sure if she could handle a dance now; every time they were alone, she had fake work to do or needed to help out another paladin. Even now, standing at the edge of the circular ballroom having taken a drink off of a furred alien, she felt incredibly nervous, even more so than those agonising few moments before lift-off.

  
Downing the drink quickly, she spotted Lance near a wall, talking animatedly with a large group of unique aliens. 

  
"Sorry, important Paladin business, he'll be back shortly!" She called over her shoulder as she stormed through the group, and pulled him by the arm into a storeroom built into the side of the ballroom.

  
Once Lance had gotten over what just happened, he scowled in annoyance. "Damnit, Pidge, I had just gotten to the good bit, what's wrong?" 

  
"I can't do this."

  
His face suddenly melted into one of concern. "Can't do what, Pidge? 'You okay, buddy?"

  
"Is everything okay?"

  
"Hey, Pidge? You okay?"

  
"What's happening everyone?"

Pidge buried her face in her gloved hands, hiding the exasperated flush that covered her face as the other three paladins piled into the storeroom. "Have you guys never heard of privacy?" She nearly screeched, aware of Lance wincing behind her.

  
Keith shrugged gently. "Hunk dragged me here, blame him."

  
"Hey, I was worried about you Pidge!" Hunk justified, face incredibly worried.

  
Behind them, Shiro breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "I was worried something was wrong with Lance," he admitted, and Pidge wanted to scream.

  
"Well, there's nothing wrong with him, nor with me," she growled, voice rising again, "so please, go. Away-"

  
"She's nervous," Lance said behind her, and she spun around to glare at him angrily.

  
" _Thanks Lance_."

  
He pouted, hands going to his hips. "Well, four heads are better than one, and you know they're not gonna' go away."

She had to admit, Lance was right on that one. There was no way the others were going to leave no matter how much she asked, and maybe, they would be useful.  
Taking a deep breath, she turned back the others by the door, playing nervously with the material around her waist. "I'm really scared to ask Allura for a dance, okay?"she admitted with a huff, "happy now?"

  
"Wait, is that it?" Hunk asked gently, "That's so cute!"

  
"It's not cute, it's terrifying!"

Keith scoffed gently, unfolding his arms. "And you asked  _Lance_  for help?"

  
"Excuse you mullet man, I'm excellent in the ways of the heart!"

  
"Yeah, and I'm the emperor of the Galra, so shut up."

  
Just as Lance was about to argue back, Shiro shot him a glare that Pidge was silently grateful for. "If you want help, Pidge," he calmly said, pushing past Hunk slightly, "we're here to help."

  
"I just-" her words stumbled over each other, not quite able to express what she was thinking- "I don't know how to ask her without being awkward."

  
"Well, once you've asked her, you don't need to talk again until after the dance, right?" Hunk suggested, "so, really, she'll say yes or no, and that's that I guess."

  
"But what if she says no?"

  
"Then avoid her for the rest of the night and get Coran to find some altean potion that will let you forget the past twenty-four hours," Lance offered simply, shrugging at the weird looks the others gave him, "he told me that's a thing that exists, seriously!"

  
Pidge thought for a moment, contemplating her options, when Keith gave Shiro a nudge with his elbow, causing Shiro to cough slightly and Pidge to raise an eyebrow.

  
"She won't say no, though," Shiro assured gently, "I'm pretty sure we've all seen the way she looks at you-"

  
"-And we've had several moan-about-our-crushes-slash-significant-others spa days recently," Lance added, earning him a mock offended glare from Shiro, "trust me, Allura's really into you."

"Okay," Pidge said, determined, "dance after this, I'll ask her."

  
The sound of cheers filled the small room, Hunk even going as far as pulling her into a large hug.   
"Thank you guys, really."

  
"We're family now, it's what we do," Keith suggested with a rare, soft smile, "we couldn't let you work through this alone."

  
"That, and we could all feel your crush on Allura through the paladin bond thing," Hunk sneakily added, waving his hand in the air to mimic brainwaves and causing Pidge to blush with embarrassment again.

  
"They were, uh, quite strong feelings," Shiro remarked, scratching at his nose with one gloved hand, "at one point, I thought  _I_  had a crush on Allura, and for a happily taken man, that's quite confusing."

  
Laugher broke out from the group, Lance moving to playfully hit Shiro's arm.

"Is everything alright in here?"

  
The team froze as Allura appeared in the doorway, head poking around the entrance to look at them sceptically. The team looked between themselves, desperately willing each other to come up with an explanation. 

  
"Lance thought he saw something suspicious," Shiro finally said, coughing slightly at Lance's betrayed face, "but we talked it though and it was a false alarm, so everything is fine, Princess."

  
Allura visibly sighed, regaining a smile that Pidge felt herself begin to fixate on. "That's good then," she said, slightly breathless, "Lance, I applaud you on your keen eye, but do be more subtle next time, our hosts have been asking after you all for a while now." She paused, sighing again, but this time out of exasperation. "Coran has been instructing the orchestra about human dances, and I believe the Wrathnian Empress wants a demonstration of the Watts."

  
"The waltz," Shiro corrected gently, before turning to Lance and holding his arm out, "shall we?"

  
Lance excitedly took his arm, nodding. "Let's ace this thing, see you guys on the other side!"

  
They exited the small room, pushing past Allura whilst talking about something quiet and inaudible. Hunk and Keith looked between each other, somewhat concerned. 

  
"Keith, I think you're gonna have to dance with me," Hunk said quietly, and Keith flushed, "just, please don't step on my toes again?"

  
"I can't help it," Keith grumbled, shoving his hands in the pockets of his waistcoat, "I can't dance."

  
Hunk rolled his eyes, hooking his arm around Keith's elbow and dragging him out of the room. "Good luck Pidge!" He called over his shoulder, and Pidge felt her cheeks heat up for what must have been at least the fifth time tonight.

Judging by Allura's expectant face, it wasn't going to be the last.

"Well then Pidge, I'll see you later," Allura said gently as she turned to leave, and Pidge felt herself scramble to her side.

  
"Wait," she called out, making Allura stop on the spot, "would you like to dance with me? You know the waltz right, the one Hunk taught you?"

  
Allura nodded, smile forming on her face as she contemplated her answer. "I do know the waltz," she said slowly, and Pidge felt her heart pretty much double in speed, "and I'd be honoured to dance it with you, Paladin Pidge."

Oh.  
_Oh_.

Forget beating at double speed, Pidge thought her heart had momentarily stopped. Allura had moved to tenderly hold her hand whilst she was catching up with what Allura had just said, and she found herself wondering if the Princess felt that too, that nearly painful heat when she held her hand.

Maybe, just maybe-

"We should get moving, the dance should be starting soon," Allura mused, breaking the silence and Pidge out of her thoughts. Pidge nodded in response, and let Allura lead her by the hand to the centre of the dancefloor. She was surprised to see the other paladins already there; Lance and Shiro were in a relaxed hold, talking happily between themselves whilst they waited for the music to start, whilst Keith was ramrod-straight in Hunk's grip, determinedly focused on the middle distance over his shoulder. Hunk looked equally terrified, but was relaxed enough to shoot a smile and a reassuring thumbs up, which she happily sent back.

  
"Pidge?" Allura asked quietly, "I am leading, yes?"

Oh Quiznak, now Pidge was going to have to deal with Allura's hands around her waist for a whole two minutes and forty-five seconds. She wasn't actually sure that she was going to survive this.

"Yeah," Pidge eventually stuttered out, "you're taller than me, see?"

  
"Ah, of course." Allura rearranged her stance, moving one hand from Pidge's shoulder to her waist; Pidge wasn't sure if it was just her being aware of every little movement, but she could have sworn the other girl had just slid her hand smoothly down her side. She shivered slightly under the touch, causing Allura to hum in concern.

  
"Pidge? Is everything okay?”

  
"I'm fine," Pidge said quickly, relaxing her arms and placing her hand on Allura's shoulder, "let's do this."

  
Allura smiled warmly. "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

 

The dance didn't actually last that long, but to Pidge it stretched into hours. Personally, she thought it went well; she only stepped on Allura's foot once, and that's because she was distracted by Lance tripping after Shiro pulled him into an unexpected lift, so she classed the entire thing as a success.

"That was wonderful," Allura later said, retrieving drinks from a passing servant for both her and Pidge, "thank you, so very much."

   
Pidge flushed from the praise, choking slightly on the drink. "I'm glad you enjoyed it," she stuttered, "I'm not that much of a dancer, but I'm better than Keith at least."

  
Keith had spent the entire thing getting his feet confused and stepping on Hunk's toes; Hunk, thankfully, was patient with him the entire time, but Keith's scowling face once the music filtered off said it all.

  
"You were a fine dancer," Allura complimented, and Pidge could have sworn there was a fine blush under her facial markings, "more than past the baseline for the courtiers I had to dance with back on Altea." She gave a quiet laugh, tinkling through the room like music. She also reached out with the hand that didn't contain an intricate goblet of drink, placing it on the back of Pidge's lovingly.  
Pidge scratched the back of her head humbly. "Well, I-"

Just as she opened her mouth, one of the Wrathnia appeared behind Allura. The gaseous aliens had some teleporting ability that continued to scare the paladins every time it was used.

  
"Princess," the alien spoke, monotone voice sounding like multiple people talking at one, "The Empress is ready to propose a plan, if you are as well."

  
Allura pursed her lips, turning around but never once losing contact with Pidge's hand. "Tell her I shall be with her post-haste," Allura instructed, nodding as the Wrathnia once again faded out of vision to pass on the message. 

  
Turning back to Pidge, Allura huffed quietly, pouting before draining what was left in her goblet and handing it back to a servant. "I fear I am needed else where," she finally said, now holding Pidge's hand with both of hers, and Pidge was afraid she was going to simultaneously combust. 

  
"It's fine, that's diplomacy I guess," Pidge replied, but Allura shook her head.

  
"I had intended to spend some time with you, but evidently the Wrathnia have other ideas."

  
Before Pidge could form words, Allura leaned forwards, and pressed a tender kiss into Pidge's cheek. It was quick, sudden, but Pidge could smell Allura's fruity, floral perfume, and could feel her soft lips against her skin.

  
"I'll see you later then," Allura said quickly, but Pidge wasn't fully aware of anything by that point.

Only the small kiss, a minuscule event that seemed to have locked itself on replay in her head.

* * *

 

Pidge looks upon that dance with incredible embarrassment now, mostly for her complete inability to have acted like a normal human person around Allura, too caught up in personal emotions to notice the actual things happening right in front of her.

This is why she sticks to computers, she explains to Allura late one night after recounting the evening to her, tucked up in feathered duvets and with her girlfriend's arms holding her close.

People are hard, they're not logical, nor work with patterns that she can spot and decode, whereas computers deal with only the truest of facts. She says this out loud, one of the few times she ever truly rants and complains, but every time she feels her voice rise, there's a hushing in her ear, and the hand on the small of her back begins to trace circles and stars on her skin with long, but never scratching, nails.

  
Pidge helps Allura too, of course, but nights where the Princess needed it were much rarer. But the nights she did, she would spend small and quiet, a direct mirror to Pidge's loud anger, would bury her face in the crook of Pidge's neck, allowing herself to be held whilst she cried and sobbed until her eyes were dry and her throat was raw. Pidge could do little except pull her close, stroke her silky hair and occasionally murmur assurances that Allura swore helped.

It was once such night, after Shiro had vanished from the black lion, and Allura had been granted the blue lion, that Pidge remembered the event again.

  
It had been a hard mission, a long day of searching endlessly through dead space for Lotor, who was slipping through their fingers like mercury, and tensions were high. Lance and Keith had argued again, a harsh one that tugged at open wounds and unguarded hearts, mostly around the topic of Shiro. Keith was fighting it out in the training room, and Hunk had shooed Pidge away with the promise of taking care of it.

She heard Lance in his room as she made her way to Allura's chambers. A grunt, and a crash, before she heard only the quietest of sobs that told her everything.  
There was no use talking to him tonight, not like this, no matter how much it hurt to walk away.

She entered Allura's chambers a moment later, to see Allura facing out of the window, dressed in only her sleepwear and a fine dressing gown. There was somber feeling in the air, a longing for something, and although Pidge didn't know what for, she understood. 

  
"'Lura?" Pidge asked gently, moving to place a hand on her upper arm, "Are you okay?"

  
Allura spun around, smile on her face looking decidedly fake. "Katie, I'm just..." she trailed off, smile falling from her face, unable to say quite what she wanted to.   
"I want to dance again," was what she finally said, holding her arms up expectantly in the hold position. Pidge nodded, giving a small smile before meeting her arms, and Allura began to move her to the familiar three-four beat of the waltz. 

  
They danced mostly in silence, Pidge letting herself be led around the small area next to the bed. Allura seemed spaced out, distant, and as much as Pidge wanted to pry, to delve, she knew that now definitely wasn't the best time. Instead, she pillowed her head onto silky white hair, listening to the double-quick beat of Allura's Altean heart.

  
"This isn't right," Allura eventually said, voice breaking through the silence barely above a whisper.  
Pidge looked up, questioning.

"What isn't?"

  
"Shiro should be here, Voltron isn't right anymore."

  
That threw up more questions than it did answers.

  
"But Lura, you're a paladin now, isn't that at least a good thing?"

  
Allura shook her head, and Pidge felt something wet drop onto the top of her head; Allura was crying, but like Pidge, didn't want to break the hold - break the moment - to do anything about it.

  
"Only due to the desperation of the Lions do I fight beside you," Allura explained, whispering voice rough, "I hear her, the Black lion, she mourns her lost paladin."

  
"But what about Keith?-"

  
Allura shook her head again. "She likes him, but he is no Shiro. The lions will not settle until he is returned unto us, and yet, I fear that day may never come."

  
Pidge frowned, breaking the hold to cup Allura's face with her hands. "We will find him, I promise."

  
"This has never happened before." Allura sounded panicked now, and the tears were flowing quicker than Pidge's thumbs could wipe them off her face. "We have no history to work off, no knowledge of anything like this ever."

  
"Then we find that knowledge," Pidge replied stubbornly, "I'll find Shiro, just like I will find Matt, and I'll find my dad, and I won't stop."

  
"I know you won't." Allura offered her a sad smile, finally wrapping her strong arms around Pidge's waist and pulling her close. "You're brilliant Katie, I have every faith in you."

  
"And you'll help me?"

  
"Of course," Allura replied, hiccups now calming down. Pidge smiled back, bringing Allura's face gently down for kiss, pressing her lips against the taller girl's. She would never get used to kissing Allura; her lips were always smooth and delicately soft, with no hint of chapped skin like Pidge's own ones that were cracked with lack of care. As Pidge tilted her head slightly, she could smell Allura's fruity perfume again, but this time with the underlying scent of battle-worn adrenaline, and Allura slowly running her tongue over her bottom lip allowed her to taste the equal fruitiness of her mouth and her skin. She felt soft hands roam around her back, rucking up her shirt to hold on to Pidge's waist tenderly whilst her eyes fluttered shut and her hand moved to bring down the back of Allura's head. 

  
Finally, Allura groaned into her mouth and had to pull back breathlessly, replacing the contact by pressing her forehead against Pidge's.

"I will always be there for you, Katie," she said between breaths, moving her hands to lace their fingers together, "no matter what happens, I am yours, and you are mine." She stopped to think for a second, before smirking. "What is it that you humans say? I love you?"

  
Pidge nodded, fighting her own breathlessness. "I love you too, Princess. Uh,  _renzenk_?" Her tongue fumbled over the unfamiliar Altean term, but the way Allura instantly brightened told her it was more than enough.

  
"I see you've been learning."

  
"Only for you, mind."

It was then that Pidge yawned, loud and ugly, causing Allura to giggle lightly.

  
"Looks like this little Green Paladin is in need of rest."

  
Pidge was about to argue back when Allura lifted her up off her feet into a bridal style carry, and took her over to the bed where she was laid down. 

  
"Thanks babe," Pidge said once she was down, shuffling over to allow Allura to slide in next to her. Once the taller girl was in, Pidge snuggled into her side, waiting until Allura was flush against her to finally rest.

  
"Comfortable, my dear?"

  
Pidge nodded wordlessly, and Allura chuckled. "Lights to zero percent."

Once they were in the dark, Allura's arms snaked around Pidge, securing her close and stroking her hair tenderly.

  
"We'll find him, y'know," Pidge suddenly said, slurring from exhaustion, "we'll find him, and everything will be okay again, just you watch."

  
She felt Allura press a final kiss onto the crown of her head and fully relax onto the pillow.  
"I trust you, my love."

  
A warmth began to build up in Pidge's chest; it wasn't uncomfortable, in fact, she quite liked it, and it had been there plenty of times before. She knew it was love, love for this lonely alien princess who had woken up to a centuries old war, love for Allura who had turned from a feared commander to a fierce friend and close partner. 

  
And sure, maybe their family wasn't complete, maybe they were missing a Shiro-sized hole that stood out at the breakfast table every morning and instantly sobered the mood, but they'd find him.

  
One day, they'll all be together again, and Pidge was happy knowing this, sure from the protective pull of Allura's arms.

As for now, she would sleep, and try again in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on my Tumblr!
> 
> Kudos/comments are much appreciated


End file.
